Sectionalized surfboard

ABSTRACT

A sectionalized surfboard, which can be dismantled into sections and rejoined for use. The sections are joined using a vertically installed bolt or pin. The bolt or pin is inserted through holes in metal plates mounted securely to the stringer on one section and a tube mounted securely to the stringer of the other section.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates to a method for building a sectionalized,dissassemblable surfboard or sailboard type hull using a singlevertically inserted bolt or pin to assemble the sections.

2. Background of the Invention

With the popularity of surfboards and sailboards there is a need toimprove the transportability of the boards. Surfboards and sailboards donot fit into most vehicles, so a roof rack is required for transporting.In addition to the difficulty of adequately tying down the board, it iseasy for someone to steal the board off the roof rack. In addition,sunlight will fade the colors and ages the plastic of the board. Asectionalized board, that can be disassembled, will solve theseproblems. By dividing the board in two or more pieces, the board can bestored inside the vehicle and be locked inside. This saves the timerequired to tie the board to the roof rack as well as the expense of therack. The board sections can be stored in the trunk of a car. Forstorage at home, the disassembled board can easily be stored in a closetand can be maneuvered easily through hallways. To make the assemblyacceptable to the user, the assembly and disassembly should only take afew seconds. The assembled board should be as strong as a normalone-piece board with only a small additional weight.

The only successfully marketed sectionalized surfboard design is thedesign described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,692 (1998) to Pope. This designuses clamps and a horizontal tube. The tube fits into receivers in theboard sections. One disadvantage is that the tube can bend during use.Another disadvantage is the tube receivers are difficult to make andinstall into the board. This adds to the cost of making the board. Ifdirt or sand get into the tube receivers the board can be difficult toassemble or disassemble.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,403 (1995) to Hsia describes a sectionalizedsurfboard, which uses a horizontal pin or bolt to join the sections.This design uses a very long bolt and anchor structures with loops.Since under load, the loops and pin are in tension, the deck of theboard must be strong enough to handle the compression loads. The mainbody of a surfboard is typically made of light foam and significantextra structure must be added to support the loops. U.S. Pat. No.4,807,549 (1989) to Rhodes et al. describes a sectionalized board designusing suitable chevon surfaces and a cable clamp. This board would bevery difficult to build with a tight fit and also strong enough. Thecable clamping would be difficult to get tight enough to preventbending.

The sectionalized hull described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,137,873 (1964) toGarrolini discloses a system using telescoping shafts and suitablelatches. The sleeves for the shafts would be difficult to mount securelyin the surfboard and would add significant weight. In the sectionalizedhull disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,287,754 (1966) to Price et al., thehull sections are joined by pairs of clamp assemblies mounted on theupper and lower sides of their respective sections. These clamps wouldbe difficult to install and would be very heavy. Another approach isdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,409,920 (1968) to Brownley who uses amortise-and-tenon socket and clip arrangement for joining the sections.This design would be difficult to make strong enough.

All these designs are expensive and complicated. They are susceptible toflexing if the parts are not made strong enough or wear with use. Theyare heavy and difficult to install in a standard surfboard.

OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES

The object of the present invention is to provide a simplified sectionalsurfboard-like hull design, which can be adapted to use as a surfboard,windsurfer, or the like. My design uses one bolt installed vertically tojoin the board sections. This makes it very easy assembling anddisassembling the hull. The internal joining parts are glued to thestringer of a standard foam board and actually strengthen the board. Theparts can be retrofitted to an existing board or built into a new board.

The joining bolt goes through metal parts attached to the stringer ofthe board. The bottom metal piece is threaded for tightening the bolt.Surfboards are normally made with a center stringer, which suppliesstrength to the board. The stringer is disposed edgewise along themidline of the hull and extends from the top to the bottom surface. Thejoining metal parts are wrapped with a composite material to make twostringer attachment assemblies. These assemblies are made flat one sideand are glued to the stringer of the surfboard.

My design is easy to install, adds little weight, increases the strengthof the board, and is low cost. Assembly and disassembly is done with asingle bolt and takes only a few seconds.

DRAWINGS—FIGURES

In the drawings, where like reference numbers indicate like parts,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the fully assembled sectionalizedsurfboard in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the center of the surfboard in FIG. 1when disassembled showing one embodiment of the joining apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the center of the surfboard in FIG. 1when disassembled showing an alternate arrangement of the embodiment ofthe joining apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the joining apparatus;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the joiningapparatus

DRAWINGS—REFERENCE NUMBERS

-   1 Surfboard hull-   3 line showing where hull divides-   5 back section-   6 front section-   7 removable joining bolt-   9 hole for head of bolt-   10 top metal plate-   11 bottom metal plate-   12 top slot in board for top metal plate-   13 bottom slot in board for bottom metal plate-   20 metal tube-   21 fixed bolt-   22 metal plate stringer attachment assembly-   23 tube stringer attachment assembly-   25 rear section stringer-   24 front section stringer-   28 tube backing piece-   29 tube composite assembly-   30 hole for joining bolt in top plate-   31 hole for joining bolt in bottom plate-   36 cavity-   60 front piece for short squared C-shaped bracket-   61 short squared C-shaped bracket-   62 back piece for short squared C-shaped bracket-   70 front piece for long squared C-shaped bracket-   71 long squared C-shaped bracket-   72 back piece for long squared C-shaped bracket-   81 top hole on short squared C-shaped bracket-   82 bottom hole on short squared C-shaped bracket-   83 top hole on long squared C-shaped bracket-   84 bottom hole on long squared C-shaped bracket

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be describedwith reference to the drawings. The example of a surfboard divided intotwo sections will be used to illustrate these embodiments. The surfboarddescribed is 9 ft long, 3 inches thick, and divided in the middle.However, it is not intended that the invention be limited to surfboardswith only two sections or just to surfboards. Similar board like hullssuch as paddleboards and sailboards could also be adapted to include thepreferred embodiments. A surfboard with more than two sections can becarried in a suitcase for traveling.

FIG. 1 shows the assembled surfboard 1 in accordance with the presentinvention includes a front section 6, a back section 5, and a joiningbolt 7 (The head of bolt 7 is recessed into hole 9 when surfboard 1 isassembled so only the top of bolt 7 is visible). Joining bolt 7 is astainless steel socket head cap screw {fraction (5/16)} inch in diameterand 2⅝ inch long. A dividing line 3 shows where the board sectionsseparate when disassembled. A stringer installed the length of the boardis cut when the board is sectionalized to form back stringer 25 and afront stringer 26. All foam and fiberglass surfboards are made with awood stringer, which runs edgewise along the midline for the length of asurfboard.

FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of surfboard 1 when sections 5 and 6 aredisassembled. Top metal plate 10 and bottom metal plate 11 extend fromsection 5 and mate into slots 12 and 13 in section 6 when sections 5 and6 are joined. Plate 10 is made of {fraction (1/8)} inch thick stainlesssteel and has a {fraction (5/16)} inch diameter hole 30 for the joiningbolt 7. Plate 11 is made of {fraction (3/16)} inch thick stainless steelhas a threaded hole 31 for joining bolt 7. The plates 10 and 11 aresecurely mounted to stringer 25 in surfboard 1. Metal tube 20 is avertically mounted stainless steel tube with an inside diameter of{fraction (5/16)} inch, which is securely attached to stringer 26 insurfboard 1. When sections 5 and 6 are joined, hole 30 in plate 10 andhole 31 in plate 11 are in vertical alignment with center of metal tube8. Bolt 7 can be inserted the recessed hole 8, through hole 30, throughtube 8, and threaded into hole 31. Bolt 7 is then tightened intothreaded hole 31 to join sections 5 and 6.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of surfboard 1. The same internal partsare used as in FIG. 2 but the surfboard is separated at a differentlocation. In this embodiment tube 20 and its stringer attachmentassembly 23 partially extend from section 5. When sections 5 and 6 areassembled, tube 20 and stringer attachment reinforcement 23 fit into acavity 36 in section 6. To join sections 5 and 6, bolt 7 is insertedthrough hole 9, a top metal plate 10 mounted inside section 6, tube 20,and is tightened into threaded hole 31 in metal plate 11 mounted insidesection 6.

FIG. 4 shows metal plate stringer attachment assembly 22 and tubestringer attachment assembly 23 of the preferred embodiment of theinvention. Assemblies 22 and 23 are glued to stringers 25 and 26 ofsurfboard 1. Tube 20 is made just long enough to fit between plates 30and 31. The inside diameter of tube 20 matches the outside diameter ofbolt 7. To make assembly 23, backing piece 28 and tube 20 are gluedtogether, wrapped with fiberglass tape and saturated with epoxy resin tomake assembly 23. Assembly 23 is made flat on one side so it can beglued to stringer 26 of section 6 of surfboard 1. To make the metalplate stringer attachment assembly 22, a tube composite assembly 29,consisting of a tube, backing piece, fiberglass tape and epoxy resin ismade like assembly 23. Bolt 21 is installed through a second hole inplate 10, tube composite assembly 29 and is screwed into a secondthreaded hole in plate 11. Assembly 22 is made flat on one side so itcan be glued to stringer 25. Bolt 21, plate 10, plate 11 and tubecomposite assembly 22 are glued together to make metal plate stringerattachment assembly 22.

The following process is normally used to make a two-section board.Assemblies 22 and 23 are made. The board blank is shaped. A slot is cutin the foam along the stringer of the board large enough to allow forinstalling assemblies 22 and 23. Assemblies 22 and 23 are joined usingbolt 7. This assembly is installed in the slot in the board and glued tothe stringer of the board. After the glue has set, bolt 7 is removed andthe board is cut into two sections. Depending on where the board is cut,embodiments shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3 can be produced. The two sectionsare then filled and the board is glassed. To assemble the board, theuser simply aligns the sections and inserts and tightens bolt 7. Fordisassembly the user removes bolt 7 and separates the sections.

FIG. 5 shows internal parts of another embodiment with differentstringer attachment assemblies. In this embodiment, a metal strap isbent into the form of a squared C-shape shown as brackets 61 and 71.Long bracket 71 has a hole 83 on top and a threaded hole 84 on thebottom for assembly bolt 80. Short racket 61 has holes 81 and 82 to fitbolt 80. Bracket 61 is made to just fit inside bracket 71 to enable bolt7 to pass through holes 83,81,85,82 and tightened into threaded hole 84.To make one stringer attachment assembly, bracket 61 is glued to frontpiece 60 and back piece 62, wrapped with reinforcing material and coatedwith thermosetting resin. To make a second stringer attachment assembly,bracket 71 is glued to front piece 70 and back piece 72, wrapped withreinforcing material and coated with thermosetting resin. They are thenglued to the stringer of the surfboard. When joining sections of board1, assembly bolt 80 is inserted through hole 83 of bracket 71, hole 81of bracket 61, hole 85 in front piece 60, hole 82 in bracket 61 andthreaded into threaded hole 84 in bracket 71.

While the present invention has been described with reference toparticular embodiments, it is to be appreciated that the embodiment isillustrative and that the invention is not intended to be limited toonly the disclosed embodiment. Variations within the spirit and scope ofthe invention will occur to those skilled in the art. For example,instead if inserting the bolt from the top, the internal assembly couldbe inverted and the bolt inserted from the bottom. The joining boltcould also be replaced with a pin for quicker assembly/disassembly. Oneof the stringer attachment assembly using squared C-shaped bracketscould be used with an assembly using a metal tube. The metal platescould be mounted on both sections of the board. In another example,L-shaped metal strips would replace the metal plates, with one side ofthe L attached to the stringer.

1. A sectionalized, dissassemblable surfboard or windsurfer like hullcomprising: One section having a first interfacing surface: A secondsection having a second interfacing surface matable to the firstinterfacing surface; and A connecting apparatus capable of releasablyconnecting the sections in alignment such that the said interfacingsurfaces form a joint therebetween, said connecting apparatuscomprising, A connecting bolt, which is inserted vertically throughholes in said connecting apparatus of said first section and a tube insaid connecting apparatus of said second section and thereby connectssaid sections. Said connecting apparatus of said first interfacingsurface containing two mounted horizontal plates with round holes thatmatch the diameter of said bolt, which are mounted at or near the topand bottom of the hull. Said connecting apparatus of said secondinterfacing surface, containing said tube mounted vertically with insidediameter matching to diameter of said bolt, and which fits between saidhorizontal plates of said first interfacing surface when said sectionsare joined.
 2. The hull of claim 1, where said horizontal plates of saidconnecting apparatus of said first section include means to attach themto the stringer(s) of said first hull section.
 3. The hull of claim 1where said tube of said connecting apparatus of said second interfacingsurface include means to attach said tube to the stringer(s) of saidsecond hull section.
 4. The hull of claim 1 where said horizontal platesof said connecting apparatus of said first section include means toattach them to the top and bottom surfaces of the said first hullsection.
 5. The hull of claim 1 where said tube of said connectingapparatus of said second interfacing surface include means to attachsaid tube to the top and bottom surfaces of said second hull section. 6.The hull of claim 1 where said horizontal plates of said connectingapparatus of said first section are made in one piece in the form of asquared C-shape.
 7. The hull of claim 1 where said bolt is replaced by apin.
 8. A sectionalized, disassemblable surfboard or windsurfer likehull comprising: One section having a first interfacing surface: Asectionalized, disassemblable surfboard or windsurfer like hullcomprising: A second section having a second interfacing surface matableto the first interfacing surface; and A connecting apparatus capable ofreleasably connecting the sections in alignment such that the saidinterfacing surfaces form a joint therebetween, said connectingapparatus comprising, A connecting bolt, which is inserted verticallythrough the holes in said connecting apparatus of said first section andthe holes in said connecting apparatus of said second section andthereby connects said sections. Said connecting apparatus of said firstinterfacing surface containing two horizontal plates with round holes,which match the diameter of said bolt, which are mounted near the topand bottom of the hull, Said connecting apparatus of said secondinterfacing surface containing two horizontal plates with round holes,which match the diameter of said bolt, which are mounted near the topand bottom of the hull. When said sections are joined, said plates offirst section and second section interleave so said joining bolt can beinserted through said holes in said four plates.
 9. The hull of claim 8,where said horizontal plates of said connecting apparatus of said firstsection include means to attach them to the stringer of said first hullsection.
 10. The hull of claim 8, where said horizontal plates of saidconnecting apparatus of said second section include means to attach themto the stringer of said first hull section.
 11. The hull of claim 10,where said horizontal plates of said connecting apparatus of said firstsection include means to attach them to the top and bottom surfaces ofsaid first hull section.
 12. The hull of claim 10, where said horizontalplates of said connecting apparatus of said second section include meansto attach them to the top and bottom surfaces of said second hullsection.
 13. The hull of claim 1 where said horizontal plates of saidconnecting apparatus of said first section and/or second section aremade in one piece in the form of a squared C-shape.
 14. The hull ofclaim 10 where the bolt is replaced by a pin